Smith Clarifies Position on Transgender Applicants

Submitted by Scott Jaschik on May 7, 2013 - 3:00am

Smith College has been receiving criticism[1] over reports (not confirmed by the college) that a transgender applicant was rejected (although some of those reports suggest that the prospective student's application was returned for more information and not rejected). The college has for many years stated that students who are admitted to Smith may complete their educations, even if they are transgender and start identifying as such while enrolled, despite having presented themselves differently at the time of admission. But until recently, the college's statement on sexual identity[2] said this about admission: "Is Smith still a women's college? Absolutely. As a women's college, Smith only considers female applicants for undergraduate admission." Now, however, the college's statement reads this way: "How does Smith decide who is a woman? It doesn’t. With regard to admission, Smith relies upon the information provided by each student applicant. In other contexts, different definitions and requirements may apply. For example, the definition of a woman for NCAA competition may differ from the definition of a woman for purposes of admission to Smith or other single-sex colleges."

Debra Shaver, dean of admission, said via e-mail that the new statement didn't mean the policy had changed. "We clarified how we consider transgender applicants; we're being more transparent. This is the same practice we've used for more than a decade," she said.